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Israel's new defense minister Ehud Barak is now faced with his first challenge - how to respond to the latest Qassam rocketing of Sderot from the Gaza Strip. IsraCast is of the view that the total Hamas takeover of Gaza has altered its 'hybrid' status and that Israel should now consider new responses. These could include temporary interruptions to the water and electricity that Israel still supplies to Gaza.

What should we do to help President Mahmoud Abbas and his West Bank government and weaken Hamas and its grip on the Gaza Strip? The signs are that both U.S. President George Bush and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert see eye to eye in principle. The U.S. though may seek more than Israel would like to give when it comes to releasing terrorist prisoners, lifting roadblocks and other security related issues on the West Bank. IsraCast anticipates that the Hamas takeover of Gaza will be viewed as an overkill both of Palestinian lives and politically.

The dust has not yet settled after the takeover of Gaza by Hamas, the radical Islam movement. From his headquarters in Ramallah on the West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a new prime minister Salam Fayyad to replace Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. Haniyeh refuses to step down contending that his Hamas members control two- thirds of the Palestinian parliament. Now in the U.S., Prime Minister Ehud Olmert talks of a new opportunity arising from the split between Hamas and Fatah. A leading Israeli analyst Dr. Dan Schueftan previously told IsraCast that although today's events should have been visible from the outset it is most important to see their ramifications on future developments.

The Hamas takeover of Gaza has upset not only the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation but could also have consequences for neighboring which also faces an Islamist threat. IsraCast is of the view that the Hamas expulsion of President Mahmoud Abbas from Gaza is one of the most dramatic developments since the start of the Oslo peace process in 1993 and casts doubt on Palestinian readiness to accept the two state solution envisaged in the Road Map peace plan.

With his election victory in the Labor party, Ehud Barak must now show the Israeli people he has answers to their pressing security problems. IsraCast is of the view that Barak's comeback is a direct result of Israel's failure to win the Second Lebanon War last summer, an event that has shaken public confidence in the nation's leadership. Barak's expected appointment as defense minister may strengthen Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - but if Barak succeeds he could eventually upstage Olmert and become the 'de facto' leader in security and foreign affairs.

As forecast by IsraCast, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is now ready to actively explore the intentions of Syria President Bashaar Assad. Olmert had to fill two necessary requirements: first the greenlight from U.S. President George W. Bush and second a new and respected defense minister, to ease the jitters of an Israeli public which has grave doubts about Olmert's capabilties after the Second Lebanon War.

In Britain, the University and College Union (UCU) vote to promote a boycott of Israeli academic institutions has aroused a furious Israeli reaction. The UCU boycott was said to be in protest to Israel's actions in the conflict with the Palestinians. Even super-dove Yossi Beilin of the left wing Labor party called on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to condemn the UCU decision. Otherwise Beilin said the outgoing leader's term would be stained by such an ignominy. The UCU resolution, approved by 158 to 99, is only a recommendation until approved by a majority of the body's 120,000 members. IsraCast evaluates the UCU motion and other manifestations of what appear to be a double standard of morality applied only to the Jewish state.

The Palestinian rockets continued crashing into Sderot this week killing and wounding Israeli civilians. One of Israel's responses is to arrest Hamas politicians and IsraCast points to the possibility that they may also face targeted killing if they do not halt the Qassams from Gaza.

How will Israel react after a Qassam rocket from Gaza killed an Israeli woman driving in Sderot on Monday night? IsraCast says subsequent statements by Israeli officials indicate that Hamas political leaders may be put on Israel's hit list in addition to those who actually send the launchers of the rockets. What is certain is that targeted killings and other counter-terror operation will be escalated now but a major ground operation into the Gaza Strip is not in the offing.

Palestinians kept up their rocket barrage at the Israeli town of Sderot on Friday - this week alone they have terrorized the town with some one-hundred Qassams crashing down by day and night. The IDF has been ordered to step up counter-terror strikes but a senior officer rules out a major ground operation at this time. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also appears ready to adopt this policy. IsraCast is of the view that Olmert will try and ride out the coming days with the expectation that his Labor coalition partners will elect either Ehud Barak or Ami Ayalon as party leader who will then take over as defense minister.

As anticipated by IsraCast, the bloody Palestinian infighting between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip has spilled over into Israel. The Palestinians have launched over 30 Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot apparently in an attempt to deflect the focus from their internal feud that killed at least 15 Palestinians on Tuesday, May 15th. The rockets are terrorizing the children, women and men. In the initial bombardment, one woman was seriously injured and dozens more were lightly hurt and suffered from shock. While the Israeli government considers what to do, Jewish-Russian philanthropist Arkadi Gaydamak has stepped in with his own private solution.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni presented a wide ranging Briefing on Israel's foreign relations when the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee was opened to the public for the first time. Livni focused on the Arab League initiative which offers full peace in return for a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. IsraCast reports that Livni was cautiously optimistic about the Arab League aiding the peace process but it could not substitute for the Palestinians at the conference table. Meanwhile in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas - Fatah bloodbath continues but this has not interfered with the the terrorists launch more Qassam rockets into Israel.

The futures of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz will be on the line when the Winograd Commission releases its partial report on April 30th.As previously reported by IsraCast, the chances are good that Olmert will survive the interim findings. The long awaited conclusions will deal with the period from the IDF evacuation of the security zone in southern Lebanon back in May 2000 until the first five days of the war that erupted on July 12th 2006. Leaks to the media from Winograd testimony have highlighted the responsibility of former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for failing to respond to warnings from senior officers before the war and his inexperience in conducting a war against the Hizballah guerillas.

Strong winds of war are again blowing in the Middle East after Hamas launched more than 100 rockets and mortars at Israel from the Gaza Strip. It was the most massive terror attack on Israel since Hamas agreed to a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is consulting with defense officials on how to react.

As Israel's Independence Day draws near, the Jewish state faces a range of evolving prospects and dangers. At the same time, if Prime minister Ehud Olmert survives the Winograd Commission into the Second Lebanon War, he will have likely have new defense and finance ministers at his side. IsraCast analyzes the current situation and the domestic political scene and possibly some dramatic changes.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has denied foreign reports that Israel will attack Syria during a U.S. military operation against Iran's nuclear facilities this summer. Briefing the Knesset's Foreign Affairs & & Defense Committee, the Israeli leader said there was no truth to the rumors - Israel had no intention of attacking Syria.

Are new developments afoot in the Middle East? The 'to and fro' of international figures coupled with the Arab League's peace offer might be misleading. The IsraCast assessment is that Israeli foreign policy is so closely tied to the Bush administration that it has been put on hold until the Iranian nuclear crisis is resolved.

The Arab League convened in Riyadh, to approve the Saudi peace initiative that was first raised five years ago. Israel is now debating how to react to the Arab peace offer that comes with some serious strings attached. In any event, the IsraCast analysis is that Jerusalem is faced with the dilemma of how to advance the latest Arab peace initiative without officially accepting the Arab conditions for a total Israeli withdrawal and the so-called right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel proper.

On the very day the Arab League was convening in Saudi Arabia to approve their peace plan, Palestinian terrorists launched seven more Qassam rockets at Israel. For the first time since last November, Israeli helicopters went into action to strike the rocket launchers. In the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, the new IDF Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi that the Hamas military buildup in Gaza must be eliminated one way or another. IsraCast presents a detailed assessment of major changes being implemented by the new Chief of Staff in light of the Second Lebanon War.

Several European countries have indicated they will recognize Hamas cabinet ministers in the new Palestinian government. In Gaza, a senior Norwegian diplomat has met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh who has declared his support for 'resistance' - that is terrorism against Israel. Hamas also claimed responsibility for the shooting of an Israeli electricity worker who was repairing a power line that supplies electricity to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli was seriously wounded. In addition, more Qassam rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza. In Jerusalem, IsraCast asked Deputy Premier Shimon Peres if there were now a danger that European countries will try and appease the Hamas government by selling out Israel, like Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany in 1938?